The Truth About Google's Nexus S: It's Nothing Special

We've had a chance to play with the new Google Android-powered Samsung Nexus S. It's a nice phone, but it's nothing special. And given its weak distribution, it's no threat to Apple or the iPhone.

Sure, it's the newest, latest, and greatest Android-based phone. But that's all it is. There will be another newer and better Android phone announced in a few weeks, and then another one a few weeks after that, and before you know it, no one will care about the Nexus S. There's nothing surprising or amazing here.

Sure, it was designed with some help from Google. But does that actually make it better? Google is a search and advertising company, not known for its design ability -- and with no history of designing great hardware.

Worst of all, its distribution -- the most important thing in the mobile industry -- is currently weak: It's only available with 3G service from T-Mobile, which means it's not going to sell that great. T-Mobile has about 34 million subscribers; Verizon and AT&T each have over 90 million. The Nexus S would sell better if it were available at all of the major U.S. carriers, or at least at one of the two majors. But it's not, and there's no reason to believe it will be.

So it's no threat to the iPhone, or really any "good" Android phone on other carriers.

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Actually there are a few things that are incorrect in this article. First of all the Nexus S is not being sold by T-Mobile. You cannot even buy it at T-Mobile. You can buy it at Best Buy. You can purchase it with a contract on T-Mobile OR unlocked meaning you can use it on AT&T as well (no 3G available on AT&T though..so yes, this is a big minus, but the article is not accurate). Secondly, it states Google has no history of designing great hardware. Again, not true. They worked with HTC in designing the Nexus One which is a stunning piece of hardware. Third, the article states that there's "nothing special" or "surprising" about this phone. Well, that's not true. It's the first phone to include NFC (near field communication) where the phone can come in proximity of sensors to pick up data and in the future use your phone to pay for transactions wirelessly by waving the phone at the pay console. Finally, yes you mention it's the latest and greatest Android phone but you didn't mention that it has the latest version of Android. What you also failed to mention is that this phone, as the Nexus One, will NOT have to wait for updates from the carriers. The updates are from Google meaning you have the latest software as soon as Google releases it. Not months to a year waiting for the carrier to release it. So let's put this in perspective shall we?

1) I didn't realize that T-Mobile wouldn't be selling the phone in its stores. Frankly, that's even worse, then. Android phones don't have the benefit of OEM or other branded stores (a la Apple Store) to boost distribution and rely heavily on carriers for distribution. The fact that T-Mobile won't be pushing these means they will sell even fewer than otherwise.

2) The fact that you can't use it for 3G service on AT&T means few if any people will use it with AT&T. It's probably better off as a wi-fi only device. But at $500+ unlocked, this just drives home further how badly Google needs the equivalent of an iPod touch.

3) Google may have worked with HTC for the Nexus One, but the Nexus One was hardly a revolutionary piece of hardware. All anyone would have had to say is "make the Android phone look more like an iPhone." There is nothing special about the Nexus One hardware design either, and anyway, there was another HTC phone (forget the name) on Sprint that looked very similar as well. What made the Nexus One special was Google's attempt to disrupt the carriers' stronghold on distribution, and we know how that turned out.

4) NFC means jack to normal consumers. Maybe in 5-10 years. But for now, nada.

5) You make a good point that it removes the carrier as a barrier to upgrades, which is helpful for developers.

What I'm seeing is a lot of argument that this phone is for "developers and not consumers." Perhaps that's true. (If so, it's sad that consumers can't easily get ahold of the good Android phones, and indicative of problems with the Android strategy.) But anyway, that's just more evidence that this thing isn't going to be a commercial success, or a memorable product, which is my broader point.